The write way

How a London stationer is reviving the art of calligraphy

WHEN LUCY EDMONDS started offering modern calligraphy classes at Quill, her stationery shop in east London, she had no idea how popular they would become – but just three years on, there are 6,000 people on her waiting list, plus Quill has been commissioned by Dolce & Gabbana to inscribe monograms on to the soles of its shoes.

Yet until recently Edmonds, 33, was a calligraphy novice, her interest sparked after seeing a few designs on Instagram and Pinterest. In particular, she was drawn to modern calligraphy, a practice that focuses on a copperplate script (rounded, with thick and thin strokes) and looks ‘very beautiful and flourished’.

‘It ’s much more like drawing than writing,’ she explains. The rhythmic motion is, she adds, ‘almost meditative’.

First Edmonds employed a modern calligrapher, Imogen Owen, to teach a one-off workshop at the shop. ‘That’s when I started my own calligraphy journey,’ she says. ‘I’ve been learning along with the customers.’

Now she practises most days, often using a Nikko G, her favourite Japanese nib. ‘ We always start people off with [that] but I still use it,’ she explains. ‘It’s very reliable and easy – it’s important to use equipment that won’t let you down.’

To begin, Edmonds mocks up the type in pencil to measure out the spacing between each letter, then she writes over it in ink. ‘I’ll dip my pen into the pot and, using various amounts of pressure on the nib, I’ll be able to get the range of thin and thick lines I need.’

When the ink is dry she erases the pencil marks and touches up any parts that need more work. ‘We write on everything,’ she explains. ‘From pebbles to leaves to wood.’

She would like to develop more styles but, for now, is juggling the pressures of running her shop and planning workshops for all those people on her whopping waiting list . Smiling, she says, ‘I’d relish a weekend off… to spend some time practising.’ Modern Calligraphy by Lucy Edmonds is out now (Orion, £12.99); quilllondon.com